Method for manufacturing bilge barrels



Jan. 18, 1949. c. u. GRAMELSPACHER 2,459,316

METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING BILGE BARRELS Filed Oct. 29, 1945 s Sheets-Sheet 1 :NvEN TOR ATTORNEYS aw WW LARENCE U.GRAMELSPACHER y is I v B 2/ I I Ii"! L I- Jan. 1949- c. u. GRAMELSPACHER METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING BILGE BARRELS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 29, 1945 $2 w MH/m w m w Y =4 .I w m I: a 7 h L 8 4 3 4 W s. w 4 l 7 a 3 3 W/ H N my 0 m l 5 mm m m m E II I I a m m. a w u E 7 3 Patented Jan. 18, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING BILGE BARRELS Clarence U. Gramelspacher, Jasper, Ind.

Application October 29, 1945, Serial No. 625,357

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a method for producing plywood barrels, and particularly barrels of a type known as a bilge barrel. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of manufacturing a plywood barrel that has a metal lining therein that is formed in the barrel at the time of manufacture of the same so that the barrel and the lining becomes a unitary structure during the manufacture of the barrel.

An object of the invention is to provide a method of producing a plywood barrel that has an integral metal lining therein, which lining may be secured to the wall of the barrel by the use of a suitable adhesive, if desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of producing a metal-lined plywood barrel wherein the lining of the barrel may be considered as a seamless metal lining in that the lining itself is a one-piece structure or comparable thereto by welding the various elements of the lining together prior to assembly of the lining in the barrel.

It is another object of the invention to provide a method of producing a metal lined plywood barrel wherein the metal lining and the heads of the barrel may be incorporated into the barrel structure during manufacture thereof and simultaneously with forming the barrel into its final barrel shape.

It is another object of the invention to provide in effect a seamless metal lining for a plywood barrel that is incorporated as a unitary part of the barrel during manufacture thereof and which provides means by which the shape of the barrel may be obtained during the manufacture of the barrel.

It is another object of the invention to provide a method of producing a metal lined plywood barrel wherein the plies of wood that are used to manufacture the barrel are inserted within a barrel shaped form and a closed metal container is positioned within the enclosure formed by the plies of wood that are to form the barrel so that pressure can be applied internally of the closed metal container to thereby expand the container outwardly against the inner plies of the material forming the barrel to expand the plies of wood outwardly against the barrel shaped form and thereby form the plywood barrels simultaneously with a forming of the closed metal container into the final shape of a barrel with the metal container in intimate contact with the inner surface of the barrel.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a method of forming a metal lined ply- 2 wood barrel wherein a closed metal container is utilized for expanding the plies of wood in the walls of the barrel outwardly against a form of barrel shape to form the barrel and the closed metal container simultaneously into a unitary structure.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a metal lined barrel in accordance with the foregoing object wherein the heads of the barrel are incorporated in the structure simultaneously with the forming thereof.

It is another object of the invention to provide a metal lined plywood barrel in accordance with any of the foregoing objects wherein the walls of the plywood barrel that are formed by the method set forth consist of individual plies of wood that are precut. so as to provide an arrangement of staves positioned in adjacent relationship and joined along the center lines thereof, which staves can be formed into the shape of the barrel. 7

It is still another object of the invention to provide a metal lined barrel and a method of making the same in accordance with the foregoing objects wherein the joints between the staves in adjacent plywood layers of the wall of the barrel are disposed in staggered relationship so as to avoid a joint extending completely through the wall of the plywood barrel.

It is another object of the invention to provide a metal lined plywood barrel wherein the barrel is formed of a plurality of wood plies that are precut into a plurality of adjacent joined staves, and wherein adhesive is applied between the adv jacent layers of plies so that when the plurality of plies are placed within a form of the general form of a barrel and internal pressure applied within the plies as positioned within the form they will be expanded against the mold form to form the contour of a barrel, and wherein a closed metal container is used for the purpose of expanding the plies of wood into engagement with the walls of the mold, and wherein the metal container remains as a permanent part of the barrel to provide a metal lining for the same.

It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus for forming a metal lined wood barrel that is constructed of a pluralityof plies of wood.

It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus for forming a metal plywood barrel to carry forward the method set forth in any of the foregoing objects.

Further objects and advantages will become description.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view I through an apparatus adapted to perform the method of forming barrels in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the apparatus illustrated in Figure 1 showing the location of the elements of the machine and of the parts of the barrel just prior to the initial forming of the barrel.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the apparatus illustrated in Figure 1 and show.- ing the location and arrangement of the parts of the apparatus and of the parts of the barrel Just after the initial forming operation has been performed upon the walls of the plywood barrel.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the apparatus illustrated in Figure 1 illustrating the arrangement of parts of the barrel and of the apparatus after the forming operation of the barrel has been complete as caused by the expansion of the plies of wood into engagement with the walls of the mold and the expansion of the closed metal container. 1

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of a barrel constructed in accordance with this invention.

Figure 6 illustrates a pair of wood ply sheets that may be used in forming the barrel of this invention.

Figure '7 is a cross-sectional view of a closed metal container that may be used to form the liner of the barrel of this invention.

Figure 8 is an elevational view of the plies of wood illustrated in Figure 6 after they have been precut to form a plurality of individual staves that are joined along the median line between the longitudinal edges of the plies of wood, and illustrating the staggered arrangement between the joints of the plies of wood.

Figure 9 is a schematic illustration of ain that the liner could not of itself support the contents of the barrel nor could the liner be used as a shipping container if used alone. The thickness of the metal liner may vary from a few thousandths of an inch to a sixteenth or three thirty-secondths of an inch or more depending upon the manufacturers requirements and the use to which the barrel is to ,be put.

One of the large fields of use for such a metal lined barrel is in the brewery industry that are now using wood barrels with a pitch lining. The

hydraulic circuit for operating the machine to form the metal lined barrels of this invention.

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of a slightly modified arrangement of means for obtaining pressure within the closed metal container forming the lining of the barrel during the expansion thereof, this modified arrangement using air pressure instead of liquid pressure as disclosed in Figure 9.

In Figure 5 there is illustrated a typical barrel having a metal lining that is manufactured in accordance with the method set forth in this invention and by an apparatus of the type disclosed herein. The barrel I0 is provided with plywood wa-lls II that are formed to a predetermined shape in a suitable form to cause them to assume a bulged contour as illustrated in Figure 5 and thereby form what is conventionally known as a bilge barrel. The barrel in is also provided with the heads l2 and I3 that are positioned at each end of the side walls ll of the barrel and are adapted to be retained in positionbetween the side walls in a manner hereinafter described. A metal lining I4 is positioned in.

intimate contact with the interior surface of the walls of the barrel I0, both side walls and heads thereof. This metal liner may be constructed of any desired rigid material suitable for storage of the contents of the barrel including such metals as stainless steel, copper, aluminum, or any other of the metals that may be desired for or required for storage of special materials.

The metal liner I4 is of relatively thin material wood barrels require repitching after each return of the barrel to the brewery for refilling, and such operation requires considerable expense and labor. In this invention it is proposed that a very thin metal lining, such as a stainless steel lining, be formed within a wood barrel at the time of its manufacture and thereby become an integral part thereof so as to eliminate all necessity of repitching the barrel in accordance with the foregoing practice. Normal cleansing and steaming of a metal lined wood barrel is all that would be necessary thereby saving considerable expense and labor.

, The barrel that is constructed of wood plies may in general be of a type disclosed in the Gramelspacher Patent No. 2,365,754 dated December 26, 1944. In this patent there is disclosed a plywood barrel that is constructed of a plurality of plies of material such as the wood plies l5 and I6 illustrated in Figure 6.

The plywood sheets l5 and it are provided with the series of arcuately shaped cuts H extending inwardly from the longitudinal edges of the sheets toward the center thereof. These cutaw y Portions I! are substantially V-shaped with the base of the V toward the center of the plywood sheets l5 or 16. The V-cuts I! therefore separate the sheets into a plurality of adjacently positioned staves l8.

The length of the plywood sheets l5 and I5 are such that when they are rolled into the form of a cylinder, the sheets being in adjacent relationship, the opposite edges of the sheets will abut one another, thus forming a cylinder of proper diameter which will be the maximum diameter of the completed barrel. The plywood sheets l5 and I6 are provided with adhesive between the engaging surfaces thereof so that during the forming operation the adhesive can be set to secure the sheets of plywood together and thereby form a barrel. The V-shaped cuts I! in the sheets I5 and II are adapted to be arranged in staggered relationship as illustrated in Figure 8 so that the V-cuts of these sheets lay upon the stave portions l8 of the adjacent sheets and thereby avoid a joint extending completely through a side wall of the barrel.

The plywood sheets l5 and it are then rolled into the form of a cylinder and placed within a barrel shaped form or mold so that pressure applied internally within the barrel shaped form will expand the p ywood sheets outwardly against the inside wall of the form to cause the V-shaped cuts I! to contract and also cause the plywood sheets to conform to the shape of the mold and thereby form a bilge type barrel within a barrel shaped mold. The pressure is retained upon the plywood sheets until the adhesive between them has set whereupon the barrel can be removed from the mold.

to thereby form or provide a metal lining over the entire interior surface of the barrel. The

closed metal container may be of a one-piece seamless construction that may be produced by a suitable drawing or spinning operation, or as illustrated in Figure 7, the container |4 may consist of a cylindrical side wall structure that is provided with the end flanges and 26 forming a part of the end walls of the container l4. The flanges 25 and 26 maybe connected by metal discs 21 and 28 that are suitably welded or brazed or otherwise secured to the flanges 25 and 26 respectively, thereby in effect forming a closed metal container that-is in effect essentially a onepiece metal container. The construction illustrated in Figure 7 will allow expansion of the metal container throughout the side walls thereof and along a portion of the end walls thereof during the formation of the barrel without producing any undue strain in any part of the container, and provides for relatively easy manufacture of a closed metal container.

An apparatus for forming a metal lined barrel in accordance with the method of this invention is more particularly disclosed in Figure l. The apparatus consists of a base 30 that is adapted to carry one-half of a mold form 3|. The strain rods 32 extend upwardly from the base 30 and carry a head 33 adapted to support a second-half of the mold form 34.

The lower half of the mold form 3| is provided with an internal chamber 35 that is in the shape of one-half of a barrel of the general type known as a bilge barrel. The upper mold half 34 is provided with a similar recess portion or chamber 36 that is adapted to form the other part of the barrel contour when the mold members 3| and 34 are in cooperating engagement to form a barrel shaped mold enclosure thereby.

The mold members 3| and 34 are provided with chambers 31 and 38 respectively that are adapted to receive a heating or a cooling liquid through the conduits 39 and 40 respectively as supplied from a supply -line ll under control of the valve 42. A heating fluid may be circulated through the molds 3| and 34 for the purpose of curing the adhesive that is placed between the plies of wood that form the barrel, or for softening the same, and thereafter the chambers 3'! and 38 may receive a cooling fluid to cool the barrel before removing it from the molds. In this way either thermosetting resins or thermoplastic resins can be used as the adhesive for holding the plies of wood together.

The lower mold member 3| is carried upon the plunger of the hydraulic motor 45, the plunger 45 reciprocating within the cylinder 4'1. The hydraulic motor 46 is of the double acting type, and is provided with service connections 48 and 49 for the supply of fluid to the motor or for the discharge of fluid therefrom.

A support member 50 extends upwardly through the plunger A5 of the hydraulic motor 36 and is adapted to support the metal container Id in position within the machine during the forming operation hereinafter described.

The upper mold member 34 is actuated by a double acting hydraulic motor that consists of the plunger 56 that carries the mold member 34, the plunger 56 reciprocating within the cylinder 5'! of the hydraulic motor 55. draulic motor 55 is provided with the service connections 58 and 59 for supplying fluid to the motor and for exhausting fluid therefrom during operation thereof. 7 I

Fluid, either liquid or air can be supplied into the interior of the closed metal container in a manner hereinafter described through the passage 60 that communicates with the tube 6|, the tube 6| being adapted to extend into the metal container when positioned therebeneath and adjacent the bottom thereof. The tube 6| is provided with a float controlled vent valve at the top thereof, the vent valve consisting of the float controlled member 62 having the valve 63 thereon that is adapted to close the vent outlet 64. Liquid may thus be filled into the metal container until the liquid reaches the float member 62 and raises the valve 63 to close the vent outlet 64, thereby exhausting all air from within the metal container through the opening 54a and the vent outlet 64 to allow a pure hydraulic action to be obtained for expanding the container against the inside wall of the plies of Wood that form the barrel. The float 52 is retained in its upper position by means of lugs 65 that are positioned on the side walls of the tube 6|.

The hydraulic circuit for operating the hydraulic motors 48 and 55 is illustrated in Figure 9. The service lines 48 and 49 for the hydraulic motor 46 are connected to a conventional fourway valve 10 that is adapted to alternately supply fluid to the service lines 48 and 49 and alternately exhaust fluid therefrom. The service lines 59 and 58 of the hydraulic motor 55 are connected to a four-way valve II that is adapted to supply fluid to the service lines 58 and 59 alternately and exhaust fluid from these service lines alternately. The operation of such four- Way valves I0 and II in hydraulic circuits is wellknown and therefore it isbelieved that further description or details of their operation need not be disclosed or described.

The four-way valve 10 is actuated by the handle 12 while the four-way valve 1| is actuated by the handle '53. The handles 12 and 13 may be operated individually or they may be operated simultaneously by means of the handle 14 positioned therebetween, thus actuating both service valves 10 and H simultaneously to supply fluid to both hydraulic motors 46 and 55 simultaneously or exhaust fluid therefrom simultaneously.

Fluid under pressure is supplied to the fourway valves 10 and II by means of the fluid pump 15 that may be of any conventional variety such as a constant delivery pump or a variable delivery pump. The pump 15 receives its fluid from the reservoir I6 through the suction line l1, and discharges fluid under pressure through the pressure line l8 that is connected to the fourway valves 10 and H. A pressure relief valve 19 may be provided on the high pressure line 18 i from the pump 15 to relieve pressure in excess of a predetermined amount when a pump of the constant delivery variety is used. In case a variable delivery pump with an automatic pressure control thereon is used, such a pressure relief valve is not necessary. The exhaust line so is connected to the service four-way valves 10 The hyand 7| to allow for return of fluid to the reservoir from the hydraulic motors 46 and 55 upon operation of the service valves 10 or II respectively or operation thereof together.

The hydraulic circuit disclosed in Figure 9 further includes means for supplying fluid under pressure into the interior of the metal container Hi to expand the same and expand the plywood sheets and thus form the barrel. This hydraulic circuit includes a hydraulic pump that may be of a constant delivery type in which a pressure regulating valve 9| is used to bypass fluid above a predetermined ressure to avoid excessive pressure on .the discharge side of the pump, or the pump 90 may be of the variable delivery type having an automatic pressure control for shifting the pump to delivery at a predetermined pressure. The pump 90 is provided with a suction line 92 and with a discharge line 93.

The suction line 92 and the discharge line 93 of the pump 90 are connected to a flow control valve 95 for controlling the connection thereof to the suction line 92a and the pressure discharge line 93a in such a manner that the pump can receive its supply of fluid from the reservoir 90 for delivery of fluid under pressure into the pressure line 930,, or the pump can receive its fluid from the pressure line 93a to withdraw fluid therefrom and discharge the same into theexhaust line 91 for return into the reservoir 96.

The flow control valve 95 consists of a cylinder bore I in which there is positioned an actuating or control spool |0| having the heads I02 and I03 thereon for-controlling the direction of flow of fluid therethrough. The control valve spool |0| is actuated bya plunger I04 that is operated by a lever |'05 for positioning the spool I0| of the valve 95 either in the full line position as illustrated in the drawing, or in the dotted line position thereof.

When the control valve spool 0| is in the full line position illustrated in Figure 9 the pump 90 delivers fluid under pressure into the discharge line 93 and'through the valve 95 into the pressure discharge line 93a for delivery of fluid under pressure into the port 60 of the pipe 6| for delivery of fluid under pressure into the metal container I4. At this time the pump 90 is connected with a suction line 92 and the suction line 92a by means of the by-pass line 0 so that the pump receives its fluid from the reservoir 96.

After the forming operation for forming the barrel is complete, the valve 0| is shifted into the dotted line position illustrated in Figure 9 thereby closing off the lines 9211 and 93a to their previous connections whereby they acted as suction line and high pressure discharge line respectively.

' With the valve |0| in the dotted line position, the suction line 92 from the pump 90 is connected with the line 9311 by means of the by-pass line I, whereby fluid is withdrawn from the metal container I4 in the machine through the line 93. The fluid under pressure will then be discharged by the pump 90 through the line 93 and the line 91 into the reservoir 96, this arrangement of the hydraulic connections thereby provides means for emptying the metal container I4 rapidly after a forming operation on the barrel has been complete.

To produce a metal lined barrel according to the method of this invention, the plywood sheets I and I6 illustrated in Figure 6 are first precut to provide a plurality of longitudinally joined staves as illustrated in Figure 8. An adhesive material, either a thermoplastic or a thermosetting resin, or any other suitable adhesive material, is applied to the pre-cut plywood sheets so that the adjacent faces of the plywood sheets will adhere to one another when the adhesive material therebetween' has set. The pre-cut plywood sheets are preferably arranged with the joints between the adjacent staves positioned in staggered-relationship as illustrated in Figure 8.

After the plywood sheets are arranged in the manner illustrated in Figure 8, they are rolled longitudinally into the form of a cylinder so that the opposite end edges of the plywood sheets abut one another. A retaining ring I I3 is then slipped upon the cylinder thus formed and is positioned substantially midway between the opposite end edges of the cylinder.

The closed metal container I4 is prepared according to the manner and method heretofore set forth and is illustrated in Figure 7. This metal container I4 is provided with an opening I20 therein that i adapted to form a central opening through whi a tap rod may extend or provides the filling opening for the barrel.

The heads I2 and I3 of the barrel may be made of plywood or may be constructed in any other desired manner, and are preformed with regard to their circular or disc shape of the proper and desired size for the end of the barrel, the head I2, as for example, being provided with an opening I2| that corresponds with the 'opening I20 in the metal container I4. The prepared heads I2 and I3 are placed at opposite ends of the closed metal cylinder or container I4, and this assembly is then placed upon the support member 50 of the machine illustrated in Figure 1. The guide peg |20a may be provided in a support member 50 to fit within a recess in one of the heads, such as the head I3, to centrally locate the metal container |4 relative to the form 3|. Of course other suitable centralizing means can be provided upon the support member 50.

The previously prepared plywood cylinder, from which the barrel is to be formed, is then placed upon the metal container I4, and surrounds the same as illustrated in Figure 1. The retaining ring H3 is held between the locating members I30 and |3I for centrally locating the plywood cylinder relative to the metal container I4. These locating members I30 and 3| are carried upon guide rods I32 and I33 respectively, the rods I32 and I33 being secured to support members I34 and I35 that extend between the strain rods of the press. The springs I36 of the locating member I30 and the springs I31 of the locating member |3| resiliently hold the support members I30 and |3| in position illustrated in Figure 1. However, the springs I36 and I3! allow for a certain amount of vertical displacement by the plywood cylinder relative to the bed of the press, which may be occasioned during the forming operation.

With the plywood cylinder and the metal conunder pressure to the hydraulic motor 55 can be operated to actuate the motor 55 in a downward direction to move the mold member 34 towardthe plywood cylinder. This movement of'the mold 34 toward the plywood cylinder and the metal container I 4 causes downward movement of the tube 6|, whereby the tube 6| enters the opening |2I and I20 in the'head I2 and the metal container I4 respectively to pass internally within the metal container I4.

When the mold members 3| and.34 are in the position illustrated in Figure 1, the mold members may be moved individually toward the plywood cylinder to cause the edges of the mold to start over the ends of the plywood cylinder. This individual movement of the mold members 3| and 34 is produced by individual actuation of the four-way valves 'II and 10 that actuate the hydraulic motors 55 and 46 respectively. If desired, the ends of the plywood cylinder, may be slightly contracted by means of straps that are placed around the ends to insure telescoping of the mold members 3| and 34 over the ends of the plywood cylinder. As soon as the molds 3i and 34 telescope slightly over the ends of the plywood cylinder, the straps that hold the plywood cylinder in a slightly contracted condition may be removed to allow the cylinder to engage the side walls of the mold cavities 35 and 36 respectively. This position of the apparatus is illustrated in Figure 2. v

The mold members 3| and 34 are then advanced simultaneously toward one another by actuation of the four-way valves 10 and H simultaneously, in the manner heretofore referred to, whereby the molds approach one another until they arrive at a position such as that illustrated in Figure 3. During this operation the plywood cylinder is caused to have the ends thereof contracted by the contour of the mold cavities 35 and 36 to thereby produce an initial forming operation upon the plywood cylinder and arrange the contour of the cylinder into that of the shape of the mold.

After the molds 3| and 34 are in the closed position, as illustrated in Figure 3, the valve 95 illustrated in Figure 9 will be placed in the full line position thereof to cause the pump 90 to supply liquid under pressure into the interior of the closed metal container I4. The liquid under pressure will be delivered through the pipe 6| adjacent the bottom of the container l4, and the liquid will gradually rise to fill the same. When the liquid rises to a point in the tube 6| that the liquid contacts the float 62, the valve 63 will close the air vent 64, whereby further admission of liquid into the metal container M will cause the same to expand outwardly against the inside wall of the plywood cylinder.

Fluid under pressure is continued to be delivered into the metal container l4 until the metal container has expanded against the inside walls of the plywood barrel cylinder to force the plies of the cylinder against the inside surface of the molds 35 and 36, and thereby form a barrel shaped device. The expansion of the metal con tainer l6 against the inside surface of the plywood cylinder causes an outward expansion of the plywood cylinder, or the individual plies thereof, to bring the adjacent plies of the plywood cylinder into intimate contact with one another. During this operation the flexible tubes M and in the molds 3| and 34 respectively are expanded either by air pressure or fluid pressure admitted thereinto through the supply line I52 under control of the valve |53 to cause the end edges of the plywood cylinder to have the plies thereof forced into intimate engagement for causing them to adhere to one another when the adhesive therebetween sets. The position of the various elements and the arrangement thereof from the barrel side walls, or the plywood cylinder is under forming pressure as illustrated in Figure 4, wherein the metal container Hi is illustrated as being completely filled with liquid and the circular rubber tube members I50 and |5| are expanded to hold the end edges of the barrel into intimate face engagement, holding the plies thereof together.

While the barrel is being held under pressure in the manner illustrated in Figure 4, heat may be supplied to the molds 3| and 34 by means of the conduit 40 under control of the valve 42 to supply steam or other hot fluid into the chambers 31 and 38 respectively to thereby heat the molds. In the case of a thermosetting resin used as adhesive between the plies of the plywood barrel, the heat will be retained upon the barrel until the thermosetting resin has cured or set, the pressure being retained upon the barrel during this period. Thereafter, the barrel may be cooled if desired before removed from the molds 3| and 34 by circulating the cooling fluid through the chambers 31 and 38 of the molds 3| and 34 respectively.

However, if a thermoplastic resin is used as the adhesive between the plies of the plywood barrel, heat will be applied to the molds 3| and 34 in the manner previously referred to until the thermoplastic resin has softened sufflciently to allow the adjacent faces of the plies to be in intimate contact with one another and to thoroughly plasticize the resin. Thereafter, a

cooling fluid is circulated through the chambers 31 and 38 of the molds 3| and 34 to cool the thermoplastic resin, and thereby cause the same to set, whereupon the formed barrel can be removed from the mold. It is of course understood that pressure is retained within the interior of the container l4 and in the expansible rubber tubes I50 and |5l during the setting of the resin in either instance.

After the resin between the plies of wood of the plywood barrel has been set, the valve 95 can be shifted into the dotted line position, whereupon the pump will draw fluid from the container l4 through the line 93a and discharge the same through the line 91 into the reservoir 96, thereby quickly emptying the interior of the container l4. As soon as the fluid falls below the float 62, the valve 63 will open the air vent 64 to thereby permit air to enter the chamber l4 during the period when liquid is being drawn from the container l4 and thereby prevent a vacuum being drawn within the same during this time.

From the foregoing operation it will be apparent that a barrel is completely formed during a single forming operation by the method of this invention, and that the heads of the barrel are frictionally held in place between the side walls of the barrel and the metal container -l4, and that the heads are secured within the barrel simultaneously with the forming operation, thereby eliminating extra operations for inserting a head in the barrel after the barrel has once been formed. Also, it will be noted that the metal liner becomes an integral part of the barrel during the forming operation of the barrel, the metal liner being formed simultaneously with the forming of the barrel so that there is intimate contact throughout the entire surface of the metal liner and the inside surface of the barrel. The arrangement thereby gives the metal liner full support throughout the interior surface of the barrel, thereby allowing the use of a relatively thin metal liner which can be easily expanded and used as a flexible element for applying pressure upon the plywood cylinder during the forming operation of the barrel.

While in the previous description the metal liner 20 has been referred to as being held in position within the wood barrel by the expansion of the liner, yet it may be desirable to secure the liner to the wood barrel with the use of a suitable adhesive. If this is desirable, then the adhesive can be applied to the exterior metal liner or to the inside surface of the rolled cylinder before the cylinder is placed over the metal container. The subsequent expansion 10f the metal liner will bring the exterior surface into intimate contact with the inside surface of the barrel, as previously described. The heating or.

the heating and cooling operation will cause the adhesive between the liner and the barrel to set and thereby bond the liner to the inside surface of the barrel.

Also, the liner 20 has been referred to as a metal cylinden If desired, however, the liner could be partially preformed into'a barrel shape to reduce the amount of the forming operation to be performed when the linear is placed within the plywood cylinder. Such a preforming of the liner can be accomplished in'any suitable manner such as by preforming the sheets of which the liner is constructed or by partially expanding the closed metal container.

In Figure there is illustrated a slightly modified arrangement wherein air pressure is supplied to the inside of the metal container I4 for the purposeof expanding the same to form the metal container and the plywood cylinders simultaneously. In this arrangement, an air pump 20-0 supplies air under pressure through the pressure line 20! under control of the valve 202 for delivery into the interior of the metal container II by means of the high pressure line 203. A pressure regulating valve 204 is provided for preventing excessive pressuredeveloping within the metal container.

The valve 202 is provided with a spool 205 having the heads 206 and 201 thereon for regulating the. connection of the line 20l with the line 203 and the connection of the line 203 with the exhaust line 210.

When the valve 205 is in the position illustrated in Figure 10, the pump 200 supplies therein pressure to the line 203 for expanding the metal container and forcing the plywood sheets of the cylinder or barrel into engagement with the inside surface of the molds 3| and 34. After the molding operation is complete, the valve 205 is shifted by means of the lever 2 to cause connection between the line 203 and the line 2|0, to thereby exhaust the inside of the container Hi. It is, of course, understood that during the operation of the apparatus when air pressure is being supplied to the container l4, that the flexible tubular members 50 and 5| are also expanded by suitable liquid or air pressure means for retaining the end portions of the barrel against the walls of the mold form.

While the apparatus disclosed and described herein, and the method of forming the barrel the ends of the wood-sheet cylinder and retain the said heads therein, applying pressure within the metal container to expand and permanently deform the same against said retained heads and the assembly of wood sheets and simultaneously to expand the said sheets outwardly against the interior surfaces of the closed dies, and causin the adhesive to set while maintaining the assembly in itsflnal shape.

2. A method of manufacturing a barrel-shaped vessel which includes precutting sheets of wood or the like to form in each sheet a plurality of joined staves, arranging a plurality of said sheets in the face engagement with adhesive therebetween, disposing the engaged sheets in the form of a cylindrical shellloosely around a closed metal, container, positioning heads of wood or the like adjacent the closed ends of said metal container and within the wood-sheet shell, disposing the thus arranged metal container, heads, and shell between dies having their interior surfaces of a barrel-shaped form, closing the dies to contract the'ends' of the wood-sheet cylinder and retain the said heads therein, applying pressure within the metal container to expand and permanently deform the same against said retained heads and the assembly of wood sheets and simultaneously to expand the said sheets outwardly against the interior surfaces of the closed dies, retaining the ends of the staves of said cylinder in face engagement with each other, and causing the adhesive to set while maintaining the assembly in its final shape.

3. A method of manufacturing a barrel-shaped Vessel which includes precutting sheets of wood or the like to form in each sheet a plurality of joined staves, arranging a plurality of said sheets in face engagement with adhesive therebetween, disposing the engaged sheets in the form of a cylindrical shell loosely around a closed metal container, positioning heads of wood or the like as set forth herein, constitute and illustrate a preferred form of the invention, yet it is understood that the method and apparatus can be varied from that which is specifically disclosed herein without departing from thespirit of the invention, and that all modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims are intended to be included herein.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A method of manufacturing a barrel-shaped vessel which includes precutting sheets of wood or the like to form in each sheet a plurality of joined staves, arranging a plurality of said sheets in face engagement with adhesive therebetween, disposing the engaged sheets in the form of a cylindrical shell loosely around a closed metal container, positioning heads of wood or the like adjacent the closed ends of said metal container and within the wood-sheet shell, disposing the thus arranged metal container, heads, and shell between dies having their interior surfaces of a knuvnLnknnn-l tn... lama-U. LL an..- 4... ..A. a......1.

adjacent the closed ends of said metal container and within the wood-sheet shell, disposing the thus arranged metal container, heads, and shell between dies having their interior surfaces of-a barrel-shaped form, closing the dies to contract the ends of the wood-sheet cylinder and retain the said heads therein, applying pressure within the metal container to expand and permanently deform the same against said retained heads and the assembly of Wood sheets and simultaneously to expand the said sheets outwardly against the interior surfaces of the closed dies, retaining the ends of the-staves of said cylinder by means of expanded flexible tubes in face engagement with each other and with the interior surface of said dies, and causing the adhesive to set while maintaining the assembly in its final shape.

4. A method of manufacturing a barrel or barrel-shaped container having a metal lining which includes pre-cutting sheets of wood or the like to form a plurality of joined staves, of disposing a plurality of the sheets in face engagement with adhesive material therebetween, of arranging the said plurality of sheets around a metal container and within a'form having the interior surface shaped to a barrel-shaped form, of positioning heads for the barrel-shaped container adjacent opposite ends of the rigid container and within the ends of the assembly of said sheets, of contracting the ends of the wood sheets to cause the end portions of the assembly to be reduced in circumference to engage and thereof whereby to roughly form a. container having a bulging central portion, applying pressure within the rigid container to expand and permanently deform the same against said heads and the assembly of wood sheets to expand the said sheets outwardly against the interior surface of the form and thereby simultaneously form the wood sheets and the rigid container into the shape of a vessel having a bulging central portion with the heads set therein, of expanding a flexible membrane against the end portions of the assembly of sheets adjacent to said heads and on the side thereof opposite to said rigid container to expand these end portions into engagement with the interior surface of the barrel- 15 shaped form, and of causing the adhesive to set while maintaining the assembly in its final shape.

CLARENCE U. GRAMELSPACHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name Date 2,365,754 Gramelspacher Dec. 26, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 216,662 Great Britain June 5, 1924 

